Julian Hernandez vanished from his Alabama home 13 years ago and had no idea until recently that he has been living in Cleveland, Ohio under a fake identity. His father had allegedly snatched him when he was five.

"Our family was overjoyed this week to locate Julian and learn that he is safe," she said in a statement. "We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support during Julian's disappearance."

The boy's father, Bobby Hernandez, was arrested Monday and knew he would one day be caught, his attorney said.

(AP)

Julian's mother, whose name has not yet been released, never gave up hope her son would turn up someday even though each reported sighting came up a dead end, said Lt. Johnny Evans of Vestavia Hills police.

"Over the years there have been hundreds of sightings. You know, 'He's here, he's here, he's here.' We check it out and it's not him or he's not there," Evans said. "When we confirmed it, she was extremely excited."

The now 18-year-old high school student made the shocking discovery after school officials dug into why his college applications were being sent back because his social security number couldn't be verified.

They ran his information though the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's database and found his missing poster from 2002.

Julian is now asking to be left alone as he deals with the difficult news of his dual identity.

“At this point I just simply want to be normal!" he said in a statement Friday. "I want to go through my day like I did before this week, just being a normal 18-year-old. I have goals that I am striving to meet, so please, again, respect my request for privacy.”

This is the house where Julian Hernandez lived with his father, Bobby, in Cleveland.

(Tony Dejak/AP)

Julian's 53-year-old father Bobby Hernandez was charged Wednesday with tampering with records to obtain an Ohio driver’s license and is being held on a $250,000 bail

He was initially on suicide watch after being arrested Monday, his attorney Ralph DeFranco said.

Alabama authorities on Thursday charged Hernandez with interference with custody, which carries up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

He’s set to be arraigned next Thursday.

Lt. Johnny Evans of the Vestavia Hills police speaks about the case of the missing boy in Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Thursday.

(Jay Reeves/AP)

“He’s pretty upset,” DeFranco said, adding that his client “absolutely” knew he’d be caught. “He obviously knows there’s going to be some consequences. He knew it was coming. He just didn’t know when.”

The teen and his mother have been in touch, police said, but it's unclear what Julian plans to do next.

"My understanding is that he didn't know his birthday. He didn't even know his own name," Evans said. "He was going by something else. How does he cope with going from somebody he thought he was to now somebody that's completely unknown to him?"